Every one of the nine reviews comes down in favour, and the praise gathers in one place: Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden. Critics repeatedly note that the two leads take characters who could have been cartoons and make them people worth caring about, reprehensible and sympathetic at once. Beyond the casting, most reviews credit the series with hiding something tender under its nihilism, and several single out its brevity as a virtue, with the dual voice-over narration also earning mention.
The reservations are mild and cluster at the start. IndieWire and Vulture both find the opening episodes derivative and too determined to be dark, and both say the series improves as it goes. The spread is narrow, running from roughly 70 to 90, with no mixed or negative notices at all. Variety sits at the lower end while still naming it a Critic’s Pick, which suggests the doubts are about degree rather than direction.